How 4 Black Alabama women went door-to-door persuading people to get jabbed in one of the least vaccinated US states

Alabama is one of the least vaccinated states. As four Black women have found, community ties can cut through an avalanche of misinformation and fear.

Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, second from left, during a door-knocking vaccine drive on June 30 in Birmingham, Alabama. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images

By Mia Jankowicz

Dorothy Oliver has about six people left to go.

Since COVID-19 vaccines were introduced, customers at her general store haven’t been able to stop by without Oliver gently prodding them about getting the shot. And if you’re not grocery shopping, she’ll phone you up.

“I have made a million phone calls, I’ll put it like that,” she told Insider.

The retiree runs one of the few shops in Panola, Alabama, a predominantly Black rural community of about 400 people, many of whom she says feel largely overlooked by health authorities.

But thanks to her and a handful of volunteers, nearly all of them have had their shot.

At time of writing, Alabama hovered in 41st place on The New York Times’ list of states in order of vaccination, with about 52% of the population fully vaccinated. In Sumter County, which straddles the Mississippi border southwest of Tuscaloosa and includes Panola, that number drops to 42%. And until Oliver got busy, it looked as…